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Hunt JE, Pratt KG, Molnár Z. Ocular Necessities: A Neuroethological Perspective on Vertebrate Visual Development. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2024; 99:96-108. [PMID: 38447544 PMCID: PMC11152017 DOI: 10.1159/000536035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND By examining species-specific innate behaviours, neuroethologists have characterized unique neural strategies and specializations from throughout the animal kingdom. Simultaneously, the field of evolutionary developmental biology (informally, "evo-devo") seeks to make inferences about animals' evolutionary histories through careful comparison of developmental processes between species, because evolution is the evolution of development. Yet despite the shared focus on cross-species comparisons, there is surprisingly little crosstalk between these two fields. Insights can be gleaned at the intersection of neuroethology and evo-devo. Every animal develops within an environment, wherein ecological pressures advantage some behaviours and disadvantage others. These pressures are reflected in the neurodevelopmental strategies employed by different animals across taxa. SUMMARY Vision is a system of particular interest for studying the adaptation of animals to their environments. The visual system enables a wide variety of animals across the vertebrate lineage to interact with their environments, presenting a fantastic opportunity to examine how ecological pressures have shaped animals' behaviours and developmental strategies. Applying a neuroethological lens to the study of visual development, we advance a novel theory that accounts for the evolution of spontaneous retinal waves, an important phenomenon in the development of the visual system, across the vertebrate lineage. KEY MESSAGES We synthesize literature on spontaneous retinal waves from across the vertebrate lineage. We find that ethological considerations explain some cross-species differences in the dynamics of retinal waves. In zebrafish, retinal waves may be more important for the development of the retina itself, rather than the retinofugal projections. We additionally suggest empirical tests to determine whether Xenopus laevis experiences retinal waves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasper Elan Hunt
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Kara Geo Pratt
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Zoltán Molnár
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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2
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Foubert D, Cookson F, Ruthazer ES. Capturing a rising star: the emerging role of astrocytes in neural circuit wiring and plasticity-lessons from the visual system. NEUROPHOTONICS 2023; 10:044408. [PMID: 37766925 PMCID: PMC10520262 DOI: 10.1117/1.nph.10.4.044408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
The increasingly widespread use of calcium imaging to explore the nature of neuronal activity and circuits has unexpectedly revealed the ubiquitous presence and significance of astrocytic activity. Here, we present a brief review of visual system development, placing it in the context of recently identified roles of astrocytes in the modulation of neuronal responses and circuit plasticity, through their responses to sensory stimuli and the release of gliotransmitters.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Foubert
- Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Finnley Cookson
- Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Edward S. Ruthazer
- Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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3
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Cline HT, Lau M, Hiramoto M. Activity-dependent Organization of Topographic Neural Circuits. Neuroscience 2023; 508:3-18. [PMID: 36470479 PMCID: PMC9839526 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.11.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Sensory information in the brain is organized into spatial representations, including retinotopic, somatotopic, and tonotopic maps, as well as ocular dominance columns. The spatial representation of sensory inputs is thought to be a fundamental organizational principle that is important for information processing. Topographic maps are plastic throughout an animal's life, reflecting changes in development and aging of brain circuitry, changes in the periphery and sensory input, and changes in circuitry, for instance in response to experience and learning. Here, we review mechanisms underlying the role of activity in the development, stability and plasticity of topographic maps, focusing on recent work suggesting that the spatial information in the visual field, and the resulting spatiotemporal patterns of activity, provide instructive cues that organize visual projections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hollis T Cline
- Department of Neuroscience and the Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Melissa Lau
- Department of Neuroscience and the Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Masaki Hiramoto
- Department of Neuroscience and the Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
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4
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Tiriac A, Feller MB. Roles of visually evoked and spontaneous activity in the development of retinal direction selectivity maps. Trends Neurosci 2022; 45:529-538. [PMID: 35491255 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Detecting the direction of motion underlies many visually guided behaviors, from reflexive eye movements to identifying and catching moving objects. A subset of motion sensitive cells are direction selective - responding strongly to motion in one direction and weakly to motion in other directions. In mammals, direction-selective cells are found throughout the visual system, including the retina, superior colliculus, and primary visual cortex. Direction selectivity maps are well characterized in the mouse retina, where the preferred directions of retinal direction-selective cells follow the projections of optic flow, generated by the movements animals make as they navigate their environment. Here, we synthesize recent findings implicating activity-dependent mechanisms in the development of retinal direction selectivity maps, with primary focus on studies in mice, and discuss the implications for the development of direction-selective responses in downstream visual areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Tiriac
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
| | - Marla B Feller
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
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5
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The influence of spontaneous and visual activity on the development of direction selectivity maps in mouse retina. Cell Rep 2022; 38:110225. [PMID: 35021080 PMCID: PMC8805704 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.110225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
In mice, retinal direction selectivity is organized in a map that aligns to the body and gravitational axes of optic flow, and little is known about how this map develops. We find direction selectivity maps are largely present at eye opening and develop normally in the absence of visual experience. Remarkably, in mice lacking the beta2 subunit of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (β2-nAChR-KO), which exhibit drastically reduced cholinergic retinal waves in the first postnatal week, selectivity to horizontal motion is absent while selectivity to vertical motion remains. We tested several possible mechanisms that could explain the loss of horizontal direction selectivity in β2-nAChR-KO mice (wave propagation bias, FRMD7 expression, starburst amacrine cell morphology), but all were found to be intact when compared with WT mice. This work establishes a role for retinal waves in the development of asymmetric circuitry that mediates retinal direction selectivity via an unknown mechanism.
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6
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Spead O, Weaver CJ, Moreland T, Poulain FE. Live imaging of retinotectal mapping reveals topographic map dynamics and a previously undescribed role for Contactin 2 in map sharpening. Development 2021; 148:272618. [PMID: 34698769 DOI: 10.1242/dev.199584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Organization of neuronal connections into topographic maps is essential for processing information. Yet, our understanding of topographic mapping has remained limited by our inability to observe maps forming and refining directly in vivo. Here, we used Cre-mediated recombination of a new colorswitch reporter in zebrafish to generate the first transgenic model allowing the dynamic analysis of retinotectal mapping in vivo. We found that the antero-posterior retinotopic map forms early but remains dynamic, with nasal and temporal retinal axons expanding their projection domains over time. Nasal projections initially arborize in the anterior tectum but progressively refine their projection domain to the posterior tectum, leading to the sharpening of the retinotopic map along the antero-posterior axis. Finally, using a CRISPR-mediated mutagenesis approach, we demonstrate that the refinement of nasal retinal projections requires the adhesion molecule Contactin 2. Altogether, our study provides the first analysis of a topographic map maturing in real time in a live animal and opens new strategies for dissecting the molecular mechanisms underlying precise topographic mapping in vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Spead
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
| | - Cory J Weaver
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
| | - Trevor Moreland
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
| | - Fabienne E Poulain
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
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7
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Hiramoto M, Cline HT. Tetrode Recording in the Xenopus laevis Visual System Using Multichannel Glass Electrodes. Cold Spring Harb Protoc 2021; 2021:pdb.prot107086. [PMID: 33536286 DOI: 10.1101/pdb.prot107086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The Xenopus tadpole visual system shows an extraordinary extent of developmental and visual experience-dependent plasticity, establishing sophisticated neuronal response properties that guide essential survival behaviors. The external development and access to the developing visual circuit of Xenopus tadpoles make them an excellent experimental system in which to elucidate plastic changes in neuronal properties and their capacity to encode information about the visual scene. The temporal structure of neural activity encodes a significant amount of information, access to which requires recording methods with high temporal resolution. Conversely, elucidating changes in the temporal structure of neural activity requires recording over extended periods. It is challenging to maintain patch-clamp recordings over extended periods and Ca2+ imaging has limited temporal resolution. Extracellular recordings have been used in other systems for extended recording; however, spike amplitudes in the developing Xenopus visual circuit are not large enough to be captured by distant electrodes. Here we describe a juxtacellular tetrode recording method for continuous long-term recordings from neurons in intact tadpoles, which can also be exposed to diverse visual stimulation protocols. Electrode position in the tectum is stabilized by the large contact area in the tissue. Contamination of the signal from neighboring neurons is minimized by the tight contact between the glass capillaries and the dense arrangement of neurons in the tectum. This recording method enables analysis of developmental and visual experience-dependent plastic changes in neuronal response properties at higher temporal resolution and over longer periods than current methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaki Hiramoto
- The Dorris Neuroscience Center, Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
| | - Hollis T Cline
- The Dorris Neuroscience Center, Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
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Ge X, Zhang K, Gribizis A, Hamodi AS, Sabino AM, Crair MC. Retinal waves prime visual motion detection by simulating future optic flow. Science 2021; 373:373/6553/eabd0830. [PMID: 34437090 DOI: 10.1126/science.abd0830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The ability to perceive and respond to environmental stimuli emerges in the absence of sensory experience. Spontaneous retinal activity prior to eye opening guides the refinement of retinotopy and eye-specific segregation in mammals, but its role in the development of higher-order visual response properties remains unclear. Here, we describe a transient window in neonatal mouse development during which the spatial propagation of spontaneous retinal waves resembles the optic flow pattern generated by forward self-motion. We show that wave directionality requires the same circuit components that form the adult direction-selective retinal circuit and that chronic disruption of wave directionality alters the development of direction-selective responses of superior colliculus neurons. These data demonstrate how the developing visual system patterns spontaneous activity to simulate ethologically relevant features of the external world and thereby instruct self-organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinxin Ge
- Department of Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Kathy Zhang
- Department of Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Alexandra Gribizis
- Department of Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Ali S Hamodi
- Department of Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Aude Martinez Sabino
- Department of Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Michael C Crair
- Department of Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
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9
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Hiramoto M, Cline HT. Precisely controlled visual stimulation to study experience-dependent neural plasticity in Xenopus tadpoles. STAR Protoc 2021; 2:100252. [PMID: 33490972 PMCID: PMC7809435 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2020.100252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies on visual experience-dependent plasticity can benefit tremendously from experimental protocols in which sensory stimulation is precisely controlled for extended periods over which neuronal, circuit, and behavioral plasticity occurs. Small vertebrates, such as Xenopus tadpoles and zebrafish, are excellent systems for studying brain plasticity. Here, we present a detailed protocol to perform controlled visual stimulation for extended time periods. These methods have been used to study structural plasticity induced by temporally controlled visual stimulation in Xenopus tadpoles. For further details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Hiramoto and Cline (2014, 2020). A detailed protocol to immobilize live tadpoles over 10–12 h Strategies to evoke reproducible visual responses in the retinal ganglion cells Design of devices for visual stimulation Minimally invasive, efficient electroporation of the retinal ganglion cells
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaki Hiramoto
- The Scripps Research Institute, The Dorris Neuroscience Center, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Rd., San Diego, CA 92037, USA
| | - Hollis T Cline
- The Scripps Research Institute, The Dorris Neuroscience Center, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Rd., San Diego, CA 92037, USA
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10
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Gao J, Shen W. Xenopus in revealing developmental toxicity and modeling human diseases. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2021; 268:115809. [PMID: 33096388 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2020] [Revised: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The Xenopus model offers many advantages for investigation of the molecular, cellular, and behavioral mechanisms underlying embryo development. Moreover, Xenopus oocytes and embryos have been extensively used to study developmental toxicity and human diseases in response to various environmental chemicals. This review first summarizes recent advances in using Xenopus as a vertebrate model to study distinct types of tissue/organ development following exposure to environmental toxicants, chemical reagents, and pharmaceutical drugs. Then, the successful use of Xenopus as a model for diseases, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, autism, epilepsy, and cardiovascular disease, is reviewed. The potential application of Xenopus in genetic and chemical screening to protect against embryo deficits induced by chemical toxicants and related diseases is also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juanmei Gao
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Organ Development and Regeneration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 311121, China; College of Life and Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058, China
| | - Wanhua Shen
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Organ Development and Regeneration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 311121, China.
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11
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Seizova-Cajic T, Ludvigsson S, Sourander B, Popov M, Taylor JL. Scrambling the skin: A psychophysical study of adaptation to scrambled tactile apparent motion. PLoS One 2021; 15:e0227462. [PMID: 33382701 PMCID: PMC7775071 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2019] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
An age-old hypothesis proposes that object motion across the receptor surface organizes sensory maps (Lotze, 19th century). Skin patches learn their relative positions from the order in which they are stimulated during motion events. We propose that reversing the local motion within a global motion sequence ('motion scrambling') provides a good test for this idea, and present results of the first experiment implementing the paradigm. We used 6-point apparent motion along the forearm. In the Scrambled sequence, two middle locations were touched in reversed order (1-2-4-3-5-6, followed by 6-5-3-4-2-1, in a continuous loop). This created a double U-turn within an otherwise constant-velocity motion, as if skin patches 3 and 4 physically swapped locations. The control condition, Orderly, proceeded at constant velocity at inter-stimulus onset interval of 120 ms. The 26.4-minute conditioning (delivered in twenty-four 66-s bouts) was interspersed with testing of perceived motion direction between the two middle tactors presented on their own (sequence 3-4 or 4-3). Our twenty participants reported motion direction. Direction discrimination was degraded following exposure to Scrambled pattern and was 0.31 d' weaker than following Orderly conditioning (p = .007). Consistent with the proposed role of motion, this could be the beginning of re-learning of relative positions. An alternative explanation is that greater speed adaptation occurred in the Scrambled pattern, raising direction threshold. In future studies, longer conditioning should tease apart the two explanations: our re-mapping hypothesis predicts an overall reversal in perceived motion direction between critical locations (for either motion direction), whereas the speed adaptation alternative predicts chance-level performance at worst, without reversing.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Janet L. Taylor
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia
- School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia
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12
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Johnson KO, Triplett JW. Wiring subcortical image-forming centers: Topography, laminar targeting, and map alignment. Curr Top Dev Biol 2020; 142:283-317. [PMID: 33706920 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2020.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
Efficient sensory processing is a complex and important function for species survival. As such, sensory circuits are highly organized to facilitate rapid detection of salient stimuli and initiate motor responses. For decades, the retina's projections to image-forming centers have served as useful models to elucidate the mechanisms by which such exquisite circuitry is wired. In this chapter, we review the roles of molecular cues, neuronal activity, and axon-axon competition in the development of topographically ordered retinal ganglion cell (RGC) projections to the superior colliculus (SC) and dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN). Further, we discuss our current state of understanding regarding the laminar-specific targeting of subclasses of RGCs in the SC and its homolog, the optic tectum (OT). Finally, we cover recent studies examining the alignment of projections from primary visual cortex with RGCs that monitor the same region of space in the SC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristy O Johnson
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's National Research Institute, Washington, DC, United States; Institute for Biomedical Sciences, The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Jason W Triplett
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's National Research Institute, Washington, DC, United States; Department of Pediatrics, The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States.
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Hiramoto M, Cline HT. NMDARs Translate Sequential Temporal Information into Spatial Maps. iScience 2020; 23:101130. [PMID: 32480133 PMCID: PMC7262552 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 03/20/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial representations of the sensory world are important for brain function. Timing is an essential component of sensory information. Many brain circuits transform the temporal sequence of input activity into spatial maps; however, the mechanisms underlying this transformation are unclear. Different N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) response magnitudes result in synaptic potentiation or depression. We asked whether NMDAR response magnitude also affects the transformation of temporal information into directional spatial maps. We quantified retinotectal axon branch dynamics in Xenopus optic tectum in response to temporal sequences of visual stimulation. Reducing NMDAR responses by 50% inverts the spatial distribution of branch dynamics along the rostrocaudal axis in response to temporal patterns of input, suggesting that the magnitude of NMDAR signaling encodes the temporal sequence of inputs and translates the temporal code into a directional spatial map using structural plasticity-based branch dynamics. We discuss how this NMDAR-dependent decoding mechanism retrieves spatial information from sequential afferent activity. NMDAR response magnitude encodes the temporal sequence of inputs NMDAR mechanism decodes spatial information from sequential input activity NMDAR attenuation inverts the temporal to spatial transformation NMDAR activity alters the spatial distribution of dynamic and stable branches
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaki Hiramoto
- The Dorris Neuroscience Center, Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Hollis T Cline
- The Dorris Neuroscience Center, Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
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14
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Abstract
We investigated artificial scotomas created when a moving object instantaneously crossed a gap, jumping ahead and continuing its otherwise smooth motion. Gaps of up to 5.1 degrees of visual angle, presented at 18° eccentricity, either closed completely or appeared much shorter than when the same gap was crossed by two-point apparent motion, or crossed more slowly, mimicking occlusion. Prolonged exposure to motion trajectories with a gap in most cases led to further shrinking of the gap. The same gap-shrinking effect has previously been observed in touch. In both sensory modalities, it implicates facilitation among codirectional local motion detectors and motion neurons with receptive fields larger than the gap. Unlike stimuli that simply deprive a receptor surface of input, suggesting it is insentient, our motion pattern skips a section in a manner that suggests a portion of the receptor surface has been excised, and the remaining portions stitched back together. This makes it a potentially useful tool in the experimental study of plasticity in sensory maps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatjana Seizova-Cajic
- Touch, Proprioception and Vision Laboratory, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Nika Adamian
- School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, UK; Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, CNRS-Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
| | - Marianne Duyck
- Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, CNRS-Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute and National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Patrick Cavanagh
- Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, CNRS-Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NJ, USA; Department of Psychology, Glendon College, CVR York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
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15
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Gambrill AC, Faulkner RL, McKeown CR, Cline HT. Enhanced visual experience rehabilitates the injured brain in Xenopus tadpoles in an NMDAR-dependent manner. J Neurophysiol 2018; 121:306-320. [PMID: 30517041 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00664.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Traumatic brain injuries introduce functional and structural circuit deficits that must be repaired for an organism to regain function. We developed an injury model in which Xenopus laevis tadpoles are given a penetrating stab wound that damages the optic tectal circuit and impairs visuomotor behavior. In tadpoles, as in other systems, injury induces neurogenesis. The newly generated neurons are thought to integrate into the existing circuit; however, whether they integrate via the same mechanisms that govern normal neuronal maturation during development is not understood. Development of the functional visuomotor circuit in Xenopus is driven by sensory activity. We hypothesized that enhanced visual experience would improve recovery from injury by facilitating integration of newly generated neurons into the tectal circuit. We labeled newly generated neurons in the injured tectum by green fluorescent protein expression and examined their circuit integration using electrophysiology and in vivo imaging. Providing animals with brief bouts of enhanced visual experience starting 24 h after injury increased synaptogenesis and circuit integration of new neurons and facilitated behavioral recovery. To investigate mechanisms of neuronal integration and behavioral recovery after injury, we interfered with N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor function. Ifenprodil, which blocks GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors, impaired dendritic arbor elaboration. GluN2B blockade inhibited functional integration of neurons generated in response to injury and prevented behavioral recovery. Furthermore, tectal GluN2B knockdown blocked the beneficial effects of enhanced visual experience on functional plasticity and behavioral recovery. We conclude that visual experience-mediated rehabilitation of the injured tectal circuit occurs by GluN2B-containing NMDA receptor-dependent integration of newly generated neurons. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Recovery from brain injury is difficult in most systems. The study of regenerative animal models that are capable of injury repair can provide insight into cellular and circuit mechanisms underlying repair. Using Xenopus tadpoles, we show enhanced sensory experience rehabilitates the injured visual circuit and that this experience-dependent recovery depends on N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor function. Understanding the mechanisms of rehabilitation in this system may facilitate recovery in brain regions and systems where repair is currently impossible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail C Gambrill
- Department of Neuroscience, the Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute , La Jolla, California
| | - Regina L Faulkner
- Department of Neuroscience, the Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute , La Jolla, California
| | - Caroline R McKeown
- Department of Neuroscience, the Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute , La Jolla, California
| | - Hollis T Cline
- Department of Neuroscience, the Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute , La Jolla, California
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16
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Gambrill AC, Faulkner RL, Cline HT. Direct intertectal inputs are an integral component of the bilateral sensorimotor circuit for behavior in Xenopus tadpoles. J Neurophysiol 2018; 119:1947-1961. [PMID: 29442555 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00051.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The circuit controlling visually guided behavior in nonmammalian vertebrates, such as Xenopus tadpoles, includes retinal projections to the contralateral optic tectum, where visual information is processed, and tectal motor outputs projecting ipsilaterally to hindbrain and spinal cord. Tadpoles have an intertectal commissure whose function is unknown, but it might transfer information between the tectal lobes. Differences in visual experience between the two eyes have profound effects on the development and function of visual circuits in animals with binocular vision, but the effects on animals with fully crossed retinal projections are not clear. We tested the effect of monocular visual experience on the visuomotor circuit in Xenopus tadpoles. We show that cutting the intertectal commissure or providing visual experience to one eye (monocular visual experience) is sufficient to disrupt tectally mediated visual avoidance behavior. Monocular visual experience induces asymmetry in tectal circuit activity across the midline. Repeated exposure to monocular visual experience drives maturation of the stimulated retinotectal synapses, seen as increased AMPA-to-NMDA ratios, induces synaptic plasticity in intertectal synaptic connections, and induces bilaterally asymmetric changes in the tectal excitation-to-inhibition ratio (E/I). We show that unilateral expression of peptides that interfere with AMPA or GABAA receptor trafficking alters E/I in the transfected tectum and is sufficient to degrade visuomotor behavior. Our study demonstrates that monocular visual experience in animals with fully crossed visual systems produces asymmetric circuit function across the midline and degrades visuomotor behavior. The data further suggest that intertectal inputs are an integral component of a bilateral visuomotor circuit critical for behavior. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The developing optic tectum of Xenopus tadpoles represents a unique circuit in which laterally positioned eyes provide sensory input to a circuit that is transiently monocular, but which will be binocular in the animal's adulthood. We challenge the idea that the two lobes of tadpole optic tectum function independently by testing the requirement of interhemispheric communication and demonstrate that unbalanced sensory input can induce structural and functional plasticity in the tectum sufficient to disrupt function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail C Gambrill
- Department of Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute , La Jolla, California
| | - Regina L Faulkner
- Department of Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute , La Jolla, California
| | - Hollis T Cline
- Department of Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute , La Jolla, California
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Kutsarova E, Munz M, Ruthazer ES. Rules for Shaping Neural Connections in the Developing Brain. Front Neural Circuits 2017; 10:111. [PMID: 28119574 PMCID: PMC5223306 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2016.00111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well established that spontaneous activity in the developing mammalian brain plays a fundamental role in setting up the precise connectivity found in mature sensory circuits. Experiments that produce abnormal activity or that systematically alter neural firing patterns during periods of circuit development strongly suggest that the specific patterns and the degree of correlation in firing may contribute in an instructive manner to circuit refinement. In fish and amphibians, unlike amniotic vertebrates, sensory input directly drives patterned activity during the period of initial projection outgrowth and innervation. Experiments combining sensory stimulation with live imaging, which can be performed non-invasively in these simple vertebrate models, have provided important insights into the mechanisms by which neurons read out and respond to activity patterns. This article reviews the classic and recent literature on spontaneous and evoked activity-dependent circuit refinement in sensory systems and formalizes a set of mechanistic rules for the transformation of patterned activity into accurate neuronal connectivity in the developing brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Kutsarova
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Martin Munz
- Friedrich Miescher Institute, Neurobiology Group Basel, Switzerland
| | - Edward S Ruthazer
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University Montreal, QC, Canada
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Hamodi AS, Liu Z, Pratt KG. An NMDA receptor-dependent mechanism for subcellular segregation of sensory inputs in the tadpole optic tectum. eLife 2016; 5. [PMID: 27879199 PMCID: PMC5135393 DOI: 10.7554/elife.20502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2016] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In the vertebrate CNS, afferent sensory inputs are targeted to specific depths or layers of their target neuropil. This patterning exists ab initio, from the very beginning, and therefore has been considered an activity-independent process. However, here we report that, during circuit development, the subcellular segregation of the visual and mechanosensory inputs to specific regions of tectal neuron dendrites in the tadpole optic tectum requires NMDA receptor activity. Blocking NMDARs during the formation of these sensory circuits, or removing the visual set of inputs, leads to less defined segregation, and suggests a correlation-based mechanism in which correlated inputs wire to common regions of dendrites. This can account for how two sets of inputs form synapses onto different regions of the same dendrite. Blocking NMDA receptors during later stages of circuit development did not disrupt segregation, indicating a critical period for activity-dependent shaping of patterns of innervation. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.20502.001
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali S Hamodi
- Department of Zoology and Physiology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Wyoming, Laramie, United States
| | - Zhenyu Liu
- Department of Zoology and Physiology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Wyoming, Laramie, United States
| | - Kara G Pratt
- Department of Zoology and Physiology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Wyoming, Laramie, United States
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Pratt KG, Hiramoto M, Cline HT. An Evolutionarily Conserved Mechanism for Activity-Dependent Visual Circuit Development. Front Neural Circuits 2016; 10:79. [PMID: 27818623 PMCID: PMC5073143 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2016.00079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2016] [Accepted: 09/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural circuit development is an activity-dependent process. This activity can be spontaneous, such as the retinal waves that course across the mammalian embryonic retina, or it can be sensory-driven, such as the activation of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) by visual stimuli. Whichever the source, neural activity provides essential instruction to the developing circuit. Indeed, experimentally altering activity has been shown to impact circuit development and function in many different ways and in many different model systems. In this review, we contemplate the idea that retinal waves in amniotes, the animals that develop either in ovo or utero (namely reptiles, birds and mammals) could be an evolutionary adaptation to life on land, and that the anamniotes, animals whose development is entirely external (namely the aquatic amphibians and fish), do not display retinal waves, most likely because they simply don’t need them. We then review what is known about the function of both retinal waves and visual stimuli on their respective downstream targets, and predict that the experience-dependent development of the tadpole visual system is a blueprint of what will be found in future studies of the effects of spontaneous retinal waves on instructing development of retinorecipient targets such as the superior colliculus (SC) and the lateral geniculate nucleus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kara G Pratt
- Program in Neuroscience, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Masaki Hiramoto
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience and The Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Hollis T Cline
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience and The Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute La Jolla, CA, USA
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Liu Z, Hamodi AS, Pratt KG. Early development and function of the Xenopus tadpole retinotectal circuit. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2016; 41:17-23. [PMID: 27475307 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2016.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2016] [Revised: 06/28/2016] [Accepted: 07/10/2016] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The retinotectal circuit is the major component of the amphibian visual system. It is comprised of the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in the eye, which project their axons to the optic tectum and form synapses onto postsynaptic tectal neurons. The retinotectal circuit is relatively simple, and develops quickly: Xenopus tadpoles begin displaying retinotectal-dependent visual avoidance behaviors by approximately 7-8 days post-fertilization, early larval stage. In this review we first provide a summary of the dynamic development of the retinotectal circuit, including the microcircuitry formed by local tectal-tectal connections within the tectum. Second, we discuss the basic visual avoidance behavior generated specifically by this circuit, and how this behavior is being used as an assay to test visual system function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenyu Liu
- Department of Zoology and Physiology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, United States
| | - Ali S Hamodi
- Department of Zoology and Physiology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, United States
| | - Kara G Pratt
- Department of Zoology and Physiology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, United States.
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Nguyen EHL, Taylor JL, Brooks J, Seizova-Cajic T. Velocity of motion across the skin influences perception of tactile location. J Neurophysiol 2016; 115:674-84. [PMID: 26609112 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00707.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2015] [Accepted: 11/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated the influence of motion context on tactile localization, using a paradigm similar to the cutaneous rabbit or sensory saltation (Geldard FA, Sherrick CE. Science 178: 178-179, 1972). In one of its forms, the rabbit stimulus consists of a tap in one location quickly followed by another tap elsewhere, creating the illusion that the two taps are near each other. Instead of taps, we used position of a halted brush and instead of distance judgment, localization responses. The brush moved across the skin of the left forearm, creating a clear motion signal before and after a rabbitlike leap of 10 cm (at 100 cm/s). Three before-and-after velocities (7.5, 15, or 30 cm/s) were used. Participants (n = 13) pointed with their right arm at the felt location of the brush when it halted either 1 cm before or after the leap. These stops were 12 cm apart, but distances computed from localization responses were only 5.4, 6.5, and 7.5 cm for the three velocities, respectively (F[2,11] = 15.19, P = 0.001). Thus the leap resulted in compressive position shift, as described previously for sensory saltation, but modulated by motion velocity before the leap: the slower the motion, the greater the shift opposite to motion direction. No gap in stimulation was perceived. We propose that velocity extrapolation causes the position shift: extrapolated motion does not have enough time to bridge the real spatial gap and thus assigns a closer location to the skin on the opposite side of the gap.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Janet L Taylor
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia; and University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Jack Brooks
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia; and University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
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Larsson ML. Binocular vision, the optic chiasm, and their associations with vertebrate motor behavior. Front Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2015.00089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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